I have been under the impression that the r/r is grounded through the wiring harness. However this article from gYpSy`s website indicates that adding a 12 gauge wire ground strap from the r/r mounting bolt to the battery ground cable bolt on the frame cured her bike`s poor starter performance and weak spark.

"I wanna share what I found out about my 750 this past week because a good many of you have mentioned symptoms similar to what I was battling recently with wierd bike performance.

I was in a group ride 2 weekends ago, and my bike was having "a bad hair day"! She was tough to start and the battery was weak. Embarassingly, it got so bad that I had to be push-started every time we'd stop by the other riders in the group.

I suspected a dying alternator/regulator and the battery wasn't being charged consistently--that would explain the weak battery and missing due to low voltage.. I addressed the weak battery condition by suspecting either a faulty battery or poor charging flow to the battery. In all cases, (running or not) the voltage tested fine as per the Kawa Service Manualó12.5 volts without engine running/13.5-15 volts revving engine to 4000 rpm (at the battery terminals). It wasn't until a friend suggested a similar problem he once had with an old Harley and he ran a "jumper wire" from the metal regulator case (under battery) to a good ground (frame) that his problems went away. I figured what's to loose in doing so, so I tried it and my battery cranking amps suddenly worked like a miracle! Quite noticably, a battery that once only cranked the starter 3 trys with a great deal of effort, now spins the starter into outer space (!) and I can now run all my light accesories without that idling fear of the battery being undercharged. I simply ran a 12 gauge wire with eye connector ends, from the regulator fastener (bolt head and I put a star washer underneath it) up to the frame ground fastener tab for the battery. Difference of night and day....!

Corrosion over time has a way of "insulating" any electrical connection, and the ground side is completely dependent on clean connections. Since the regulator on the Vulcan 750 is dependent on good ground conduction *through the battery box*, it's no wonder with all that tortuous sheetmetal and the fact that Kawasaki uses a smooth surfaced fastener flanged bolt at the regulator mount, it's entirely possible that if your bike has seen some goodly miles, this may help you too!
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So I have a question for our electrical guru`s. What happened here?
Does the r/r need to be grounded even though there is a ground wire in the 6 pin connector?

Or did she just have a poor/dirty/corroded frame ground connection at the battery cable bolt, that was cleaned enough just by removing the bolt and replacing it when attaching the jumper cable?

To the best of my knowledge the R/R does not need to be grounded. Someone had asked this awhile back because they were worried that the relocation bracket they made, and had painted, would not ensure a good ground.

The reply from one of the electrical guru's said that the R/R has does not need to be grounded...via its shell. it should work even if you are holding it in your hand.

This is of course how I remember it ..... so any of the electro-phobes here is welcome to contradict me...

no it grounds through the harness if ou ground the r/r to the battery it just provides an extra ground to the frame but does not affect the r/r redundant grounds are not a bad thing though. bad grounds are the most overlooked problem on bikes cars trucks you name it any electrical problem always check your grounds first

Thanks for the input km and vj. That`s what I thought, and even gave that answer on another thread in the last week or so. I have no doubt that gYpSy reported her experience accurately as it happened. She just attributed the cure to the wrong thing, ie. grounding the r/r , rather than just a better frame ground for the battery.

first off, the Black/Yellow wire (pin G on the R/R) is a direct wire ground to the frame (bullet connector that splits off of the Main frame/Battery Cable). Secondly the R/R doesn't have any continuity through the casing to the ground pin, therefore grounding out the R/R through the body would have no relevance.

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